News & Updates

Second annual South Louisiana Giving Day scheduled for Thursday, May 9

Final Orientation to be held on Thursday, January 24

Lafayette, LA – The second annual South Louisiana (SOLA) Giving Day will be held on Thursday, May 9. Registration will open on Monday, January 7 and end on Friday, March 1.

Nonprofit organizations, churches and schools who are interested in participating must register and attend the final orientation meeting on Thursday, January 24 at 8:30 a.m. or at 1:30 p.m. A representative from an organization who is interested in participating must sign-up to attend the meeting at www.SOLAGivingDay.org/about.

SOLA Giving Day is a 24-hour, online fundraising event that begins at midnight and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. CST. During this period, the general public can make a tax-deductible, online donation to the organization of their choice by visiting www.SOLAGivingDay.org.

The goal of SOLA Giving Day is to inspire the community to come together to contribute as many charitable dollars as possible.

In 2018, SOLA Giving Day generated $1,095,013 donations to more than 130 nonprofit organizations, churches and schools who serve Acadiana.

SOLA Giving Day is a project of Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA). CFA is south Louisiana’s premier philanthropic organization benefiting our region, with a particular focus on the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Mary, St. Martin and Vermilion. CFA has realized cumulative gifts exceeding $225 million and has made cumulative grants of more than $107 million. Learn more at www.cfacadiana.org.

Second annual South Louisiana Giving Day scheduled for Thursday, May 9

Registration and Orientation Dates: January 8 & 10

Lafayette, LA – The second annual South Louisiana (SOLA) Giving Day will be held on Thursday, May 9. Registration will open on Monday, January 7 and end on Friday, March 1. Nonprofit organizations, churches and schools who are interested in participating must register and attend one orientation meeting. The meetings will be held on Tuesday, January 8 at 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and on Thursday, January 10 at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. A representative from an organization who is interested in participating must sign-up online at www.SOLAGivingDay.org/about.

SOLA Giving Day is a 24-hour, online fundraising event that begins at midnight and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. CST. During this period, the general public can make a tax-deductible, online donation to the organization of their choice by visiting www.SOLAGivingDay.org.

The goal of SOLA Giving Day is to inspire the community to come together to contribute as many charitable dollars as possible.

In 2018, SOLA Giving Day generated $1,095,013 donations to more than 130 nonprofit organizations, churches and schools who serve Acadiana.

For more information about SOLA Giving Day or how to participate, contact Lauren Breaux at solagivingday@cfacadiana.org.

SOLA Giving Day is a project of Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA). CFA is south Louisiana’s premier philanthropic organization benefiting our region, with a particular focus on the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Mary, St. Martin and Vermilion. CFA has realized cumulative gifts exceeding $225 million and has made cumulative grants of more than $107 million. Learn more at www.cfacadiana.org.

South Louisiana Giving Day Raises $1,095,013 in Charitable Donations to Support More than 130 Acadiana Organizations

South Louisiana Giving Day’s inaugural event was held on Thursday, May 10

Second annual South Louisiana Giving Day will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2019

LAFAYETTE, LA - South Louisiana (SOLA) Giving Day, an event of Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA), raised $1,095,013 in charitable donations during its inaugural event to support more than 130 Acadiana nonprofit organizations, churches and schools who serve Acadiana.

SOLA Giving Day was held on Thursday, May 10. It began at midnight and ended at 11:59:59 p.m. CST. For a 24-hour period, the Acadiana community was asked to contribute charitable dollars to 134 participating organizations by visiting www.SouthLouisianaGivingDay.org. SOLA Giving Day began accepting donations during its scheduled donation period on March 12 through May 9.

“CFA is excited about the generous response to its first South Louisiana Giving Day,” said Raymond Hebert, CEO and President of Community Foundation of Acadiana. “This event aligns perfectly with our core purpose to build legacies and improve communities by connecting generous people to the causes they care about. We are proud of the structure we offered to allow generous benefactors a unique opportunity to benefit their favorite nonprofits, churches, and schools. We already anticipate a bigger and better event in 2019.”

Bridge Ministry of Acadiana, The Church Academy raised $142,296 during the event. It secured the most donations among all participating organizations. The Church Academy will use the contributions to support its facility, after school care and scholarship needs. The success of Bridge Ministry of Acadiana, The Church Academy was driven by the generosity of a matching donation sponsored by William C. Schumacher Family Foundation. A matching donation is a charitable donation by private donors that will match the general public’s donations dollar for dollar.

“This matching donation opportunity offers children in our community the access to education they deserve, and it is in support of our foundation’s Mission,” said Dr. William Schumacher, founder of the William C. Schumacher Family Foundation. “The Church Academy is clearly investing in the future of our youth in a meaningful way, and so we proudly support this school and humbly request the community’s consideration of this matching grant opportunity.”

St. Pius Elementary School Monsignor Richard von Phul Mouton Scholarship Fund was another top performer and raised $113,205. As an effort to jump start its success, Richard and Elaine Zuschlag Family Fund sponsored a $50,000 matching donation.

Other top performers were Moncus Park who raised $68,992. Ragin’ Cajun Catholics received $63,121 in donations. Boys and Girls Clubs of Acadiana collected $56,240.

The event is sponsored by Superior Energy Services and supported by Community Foundation of Acadiana Board of Directors and its affiliate foundations, Iberia Parish Foundation and St. Mary Parish Foundation.

The second annual South Louisiana Giving Day will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2019.

CFA is a tax-exempt, donor-centric, entrepreneurial foundation whose core purpose is building legacies and improving communities by connecting generous people to the causes they care about. CFA has realized cumulative gifts exceeding $227.5 million and has made cumulative grants of more than $110.4 million. Learn more at www.cfacadiana.org.

The second annual South Louisiana Giving Day will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2019.

Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal Tours Lafayette High School

O’Neal funded partially the renovation project of the weight room.

L-R: Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal; Coach Rob Poole, Layette High School

Lafayette, LA – Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal toured the newly renovated weight room at Lafayette High School (LHS) on Friday. In May, O’Neal made a $20,000 through South Louisiana Giving Day, an event of Community Foundation of Acadiana.

“The new equipment is now all on one rack,” said Rob Poole, the head football coach of Lafayette High School. “It’s a workout station where you can do power clean, bench press, squat and dead lift in one space. This equipment will improve our coaching technique.”

Poole approached the Lafayette Parish School System (LPSS) and requested funding for the equipment. LPSS agreed to grant $21,000 to LHS. The total cost to renovate the weight room with new equipment was $42,000.

In January, Poole registered to participate in SOLA Giving Day. Through his fundraising efforts, Poole received a message from Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal, a retired NBA basketball player and former LSU athlete. O’Neal gave a generous donation of $20,000.

“It shows what kind of guy he is,” said Poole. “He’s selfless, and he’s about kids. They are the ones who’s going to benefit.”

O’Neal sent Poole a video. “Hello mighty Lion boosters of Lafayette, “O’Neal said. “I wanna wish you well with your fundraiser, but I may have a surprise for you. I’ll let you know. All you Lafayette High guys, students, work hard. You can be whatever you want to be. Alright. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye, bye.” The video can be found online at www.SouthLouisianaGivingDay.org/LafayetteHighSchool.

Contributions from other donors helped Poole fully fund his project. The cost of the project is $42,000.

South Louisiana Giving Day is a 24-hour online, fundraising event for nonprofit organizations. The goal is to inspire the community to come together for a 24-hour period to contribute as many charitable dollars as possible to support the work of local nonprofit organizations, churches and schools. Learn more at www.SOLAGivingDay.org.

New Iberia, LA – Angela Cestia and Jessica Ditch with the New Iberia Parks and Recreation Fund raised more than $20,000 through South Louisiana Giving Day to renovate the tennis courts at New Iberia City Park.

“We saw the need,” said Ditch. “Children were outside playing on the courts and we felt they could use a resurfacing.”

On Thursday, Cestia and Ditch presented the check to City of New Iberia Mayor Freddie Decourt. The privately donated funds will be used to pay for the renovation project. Decourt said the renovations will take six to eight weeks to complete.

"The plan is to get our courts used and our parks better utilized,” said Decourt. “This is one of many steps we’re taking to do that.”

The mission of the New Iberia Parks and Recreation Fund, a fund of Community Foundation of Acadiana, is to revitalize the parks in New Iberia and improve the quality of life for the citizens of our community. The fund is registered and managed under the Iberia On Tap organization.

South Louisiana Giving Day, an event of CFA, is a 24-hour online fundraiser for nonprofit organizations, churches and schools. Learn more about the New Iberia Parks and Recreation Fund online at www.southlouisianagivingday.org.

Community Foundation of Acadiana’s core purpose is to build legacies and improve communities by connecting generous people to the causes they care about. CFA is one of south Louisiana’s premier philanthropic organization benefiting our region, with a particular focus on the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Mary, St. Martin and Vermilion. CFA has realized cumulative gifts exceeding $229 million and has made cumulative grants of more than $120 million. Learn more at www.cfacadiana.org.